Sorry, this feature is only available to TPM Prime members

Dont ever miss an article again.New To You shows you everything posted since your last visit in a simple, scrollable list.
More Info →

Hunter Walker

Follow @hunterw
Hunter Walker is a national affairs reporter for TPM. He came to the site in 2013 from the New York Observer. He has also written for New York Magazine, Gawker, the Village Voice, Forbes, The Daily, and Deadspin. He can be reached at hunter@talkingpointsmemo.com

Articles by
Hunter

A longtime adviser to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) conducted a 2012 poll on behalf of a development firm at the center of one of the scandals that has recently rocked the governor's administration, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Michael DuHaime conducted the poll to examine how a proposed development that would be built on land owned by the Rockefeller Group was viewed by supporters of Hoboken, N.J. Mayor Dawn Zimmer.

Emails obtained by the New York Times for a story published Thursday show officials in the administration of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) made a proposed real estate development the top agenda item at a meeting scheduled to discuss flood relief in Hoboken, N.J.

A former rival of Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) said Wednesday that he has a theory to explain why the Staten Island congressman has a history of outbursts like the one that drew headlines following Tuesday's State Of The Union: steroids.

Mark Murphy, a Democrat who lost a House race against Grimm in 2012, spoke to TPM and said that while he has no direct evidence he believes that steroid use is responsible for multiple incidents where Grimm and a man he described as the congressman's "bodyguard" have lost their cool.

"These guys are wrapped so tight from the steroids that they're on, it's insane," Murphy said.

Murphy, the real estate developer son of former Rep. John Murphy (D-NY), later went on to add: "I have no knowledge whether or not they're on steroids, but they just seem wound so tight it would seem that they are on something."

Grimm's office declined to comment.

"Thank you for your solicitation for additional comment from Congressman Grimm. I am in receipt of your request," spokesman Nick Iacono wrote in an email to TPM. "The Congressman will not be giving any additional comments on this matter at this time."

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) issued a statement Wednesday apologizing for physically threatening a reporter who asked about ongoing investigations into his campaign finances after the State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

Grimm said the reporter, NY1's Michael Scotto, accepted his apology and an offer to eat lunch together.

A police officer in Pleasantville, N.Y. found out this week he will get to keep his job despite creating a "Coon Trapper" Facebook page where he posted a racist rant about wishing President Obama was dead.

The bridge scandal that has been rocking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration is now linked in at least one more small way to a billion-dollar redevelopment project in the state.

On Friday, news broke that one of the officials embroiled in the scandal had hired the high-powered New Jersey lawfirm of Genova Burns Giantomasi Webster to represent him as both state and federal authorities investigate the matter.

The New Jersey Senate and General Assembly both voted Monday to establish a joint committee dedicated to investigating "concerns about abuse of government power" that have gripped Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration.

Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) father, Rafael Cruz, issued an apology Sunday evening for what he described as a "pornographic picture" that was posted on his personal Facebook page. The elder Cruz, a pastor and popular conservative speaker, blamed the incident on hackers.